Wrongful Conviction

#251 Jason Flom with Tim Cole

In the fall of 1984 and spring of '85, a serial rapist struck at least 4 times with eerily similar details. Meanwhile, a new student, Tim Cole, arrived on campus for the spring semester after the rapes had already began. On March 24th, 1985, a 20 year old student reported what appeared to be the 5th attack. Investigators collected a rape kit, and the victim helped them put together a composite sketch. From a passing glance, a plainclothes detective decided that Tim resembled the composite sketch. Using a very suggestive photo array, investigators engineered the misidentification of Tim Cole, and he was soon convicted. Despite numerous confessions from another man whose DNA ended up matching the material in the rape kit, Tim sat in prison where he passed away in 1999.To learn more and get involved, visit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_QbivKABXkhttps://innocencetexas.org/https://innocenceproject.org/cases/timothy-cole/https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row.

Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights  from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews . This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.